The Cullen Twins
by Blak-Ice
Summary: "Alice, what. Have. You. Done?" Roselie screeched. "I had to save them, Rose. I'm their mother and couldn't stand to watch them die." Alice has returned to find the kids she was forced to leave behind, hoping to reconcile with them. But when their lives are in danger and she's forced to change them, can she and Jasper step up to the plate? Starts in New Moon, continues after BD.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The dark clouds above provided the perfect cover for her as she strutted down the street in her perfectly pristine new heels. Not that she was surprised or worried. She had seen it coming days ago and knew that this was the perfect chance for her to venture out without her family questioning where she was going. The only person who knew where she was at the moment was her husband, and he was a man that could keep secrets easily.

The only other person who would have seen where she was going was hundreds of miles away in Brazil, and although she wished that he would stop acting so ridiculous and just come back to them, she was actually thankful that he wasn't there to interfere with her plans. Especially after the incident in Forks that caused them to have to relocate back to their old home in Chicago.

Alice was still convinced that Edward had overreacted to what happened on Bella's birthday, last month, but her family had voted, and, unfortunately, it was decided that they should leave. Even Jasper had voted that moving would probably be a good idea, but Alice wouldn't hold that against him. As much as she loved Forks and loved Bella, she had to go where her family did.

What she didn't expect was Edward's self exile and pity party that followed; that had definitely upset her. She loved her brother very dearly, and though it hurt her to see hi suffer so much, it angered her that he had the nerve to leave after convincing everyone that they had to move and that they had to cut all communications with Bella, including no longer watching her future. Of course, that meant nothing to the pixie vampire as she would routinely check up on her friend, though what she saw was not good. Bella was definitely not taking things well, but as far as she could tell, Bella was safe, so Alice could only hope that she would move on soon and find a way to deal with this.

Though Alice had made a mental note to chew Edward out and give him a piece of her mind when she saw him again, she couldn't help feeling a bit excited to be back in Chicago. The city had been her favorite city ever since they had first moved there in the 80s. Edward had told them of how wonderful the city had been during his "Rebellious" years, and Alice had been all for them spending time there.

Much like he had said, the city was beautiful from the art museums to the shopping and beautiful lake, Chicago was the place to be. After her first decade there, she didn't think it could get any better.

Much to her surprise, she had been wrong. Which, of course, was the reasoning that she was making her secret venture now while her family was busying themselves with other matters.

Alice was especially cautious about her intentions around Roselie; she hadn't been particularly happy with her the last time she had brought this up and knew for a fact that she wouldn't be any happier now. It didn't help that Edward bad been reading Alice's mind and ruined her plans by tattling on her to the rest of the family. Emmett liked the idea, being that he was more laid back then the rest of his family, and Alice was grateful to have at least one other person on her side.

Jasper, though supportive at the time, had also thought it was bad idea, given the risk involved. Of course, he'd do anything to see her happy. Esme had been sympathetic, understanding Alice's feelings on the matter, but could not bring herself to agree either. And then there was Carlisle, her father and patriarch of the family.

Though a man of great intellect and compassion, had forbidden Alice from doing this, shocking her at the harshness of his command. Much like Esme, he understood his daughter's feeling on the matter, but could not permit her to take this course of action. The look of hurt that was etched onto her face would haunt him for eternity; he had broken one of his daughters' hearts, something no father ever wanted to do, but he had to do what was best for everyone. Unfortunately, that meant that sacrifices had to be made sometimes.

"I hope Jasper can keep the others preoccupied for the time being," she mumbled to herself as she came upon her destination. The sign was familiar to her, having been etched into her perfect memory from the day she had first arrived, to the last time she had seen it.

The building was well kept, though she had known that since before she had even seen it. She didn't need to be a clairvoyant to have seen that.

The orphanage was beautiful on the outside, its brick structure having been renovated a few years ago. A beautiful golden plaque rested on the right of the entrance, engraved with lettering that read, "Paid for by anonymous benefactor, A.C."

Alice smiled, pushing the door open and walking in. One of the many perks of being a Cullen was the disposable income that she had access to. Though a good part of it went to shopping, Alice would make a very sizable contribution to the orphanage whenever it was needed.

Walking to the front desk, Alice cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of the woman behind the desk. She was an older woman, most likely in her mid-forties and had a few signs of aging; crow's feet, slight wrinkles to her skin and a few streaks of grey on in her hair.

The woman looked at her, gasping slightly at the stunning young girl in front of her. Alice, of course, was used to this reaction being that it came with a vampire, and waited patiently for the woman to take her all in so they could move on.

"Um, can I help you, young lady?" she asked, blinking a few times to regain focus and to ensure that she hadn't been just daydreaming.

"Yes, you can," she said, her voice coming out perfectly smooth like butter to the woman's ears. "My name is Mary. I'm here because I'm looking for information on a couple of children."

"Information? Are you looking to adopt?"

"Something like that," she said, pulling out a photo from her purse and handing it to the woman. The photo was of two small children, toddlers to be exact, one male and the other female. The boy, who had dark brown hair that was simple and straight, was holding the female tightly in his small arms, his fingers tangled in her blonde curls. Their twin blue eyes looked at the camera in wonder, signifying that they had been surprised by the person taking the picture. "My older sister, Alice, used to visit the orphanage and do some work around here before she passed."

"Oh, my, I'm so sorry for your loss," she replied, genuine sympathy in her voice. Alice would have laughed at this had she not had a purpose for coming up with such a made up story about herself.

"It was a terrible loss for our family, but we've been trying to do our best to move on and make our family stronger. Now, this is where things get a bit complicated. These two children, though not biologically related, are my niece and nephew," Alice said, seriousness in her words.

"I'm not quite sure that I follow," the woman said.

"My sister started working here because she needed to fill a void in her life; she had found out that she could not reproduce children of her own, felt that it would help her to be around children as she loved children very dearly. While here, she came across these two, just after their second birthday, and instantly fell in love with them. From that day on, she took it upon herself to care for and love these children as if they were her own, visiting them every day, and taking extra time and care to be with them."

"My, your sister sounds like she was a very wonderful young lady. If I may ask, and please let me know if this is too personal, but if she was so enthralled by these two, why did she not adopt them while she still had a chance?"

"She wanted to, she truly, dearly wanted to," Alice said, her heart aching at the memory. "She loved them very dearly, and wanted nothing more than to adopt them…but she couldn't because of her illness. She had been working here for nearly a year, and the two had taken to her quite lovingly as she them. She used to tell us all about them, and had planned on adopting them as soon as she could make the proper arrangements. My parents weren't exactly on board with the idea, worried that someone as young as her would have a difficulty handling such a responsibility."

This part, though slightly fabricated, still held a bit of truth to it. Carlisle and Esme were constantly worried that Alice, though very good at controlling her thirst, would slip up if she were around humans too often. But there was something about these two that just drew her back to the orphanage day after day. Almost like the pull of a singer to a vampire, if she were being honest, except she had no urge to drink their blood, simply to take care of them.

"My sister's resolve was strong though, and she continued her preparations to bring them into our family. But then, an unfortunate development happened; we discovered that she was very ill with a terminal disease. The doctors had only given her a month to live, saying that the disease had been eating away at her for so long undetected, that there was no way for them to stop it now. Because of this, she was forced to leave them behind."

Alice could still remember the day that she had been told that they were going to be moving. The fear and desperation she felt as she protested the move had been felt by all of her family, especially Jasper, who, of course, amplified her feelings. The others weren't budging though, no matter what she told them; Roselie's jealousy was too strong and Edward's resolve was strong. Alice knew that the two of them would be lost causes, but she had hoped that the rest of her family could see it in their hearts to at least give her this. She was, sadly, mistaken.

Jasper, although supportive and loving, couldn't find it in himself to agree with her. It wasn't that he disliked children, quite the opposite; he was worried that his control would not hold with being in such close proximity to them. Jasper would never be able to forgive himself if he hurt Alice, and this would have been the ultimate crime in his book.

Esme loved her daughter and wanted nothing more than to see her happy, but she too, could not bring herself to agree. Their lives were dangerous and ever changing. Not only that, it would be harder to keep themselves secret when raising children. The two would age, while they would not, drawing suspicion. Not to mention, eventually the children would take notice of this as well, and they would have to reveal themselves to them. They would be lucky if the children didn't fear or resent them as it was, but then there was the risk that the children would slip up and reveal them as well. As much as Esme would have loved to be a grandmother, she couldn't do it this way.

Carlisle, of course agreed with everything that his wife had said, and forbid Alice from continuing her pursuit of this venture. Of course, that did not prevent her from continuously pleading her case, until, eventually, Carlisle had dismissed the issue, telling her that she was not to bring it up again.

" _As you father, and leader of this coven, I forbid you from doing this, Alice. I will not risk everyone's safety and exposure for this, and I will hear no more of it,"_ Carlisle declared, a tone of finality in his voice. Alice wanted to continue to convince him as well as the others, but knew it was pointless when Carlisle put his foot down like that. Never, in her eternal afterlife, had she felt her heart ache as much as it did that day.

It took nearly a while year before she could bring herself to talk to anyone other than Jasper and Emmett, her only other ally in this venture. Edward would continuously mutter that he thought she was being overly childish while Roselie would state that she was just being unrealistic, but Esme would quickly shush them, not wanting to hurt Alice anymore then she already had. It broke her heart that Alice would distance herself from them all, but having lost her own child before gaining all of the ones she had now, she understood the pain Alice was going through.

"I see," the woman said, holding back tears that Alice could smell instantly, their salty aroma reach her nose.

"Thank you for you kind words," Alice said gratefully. "My sister would appreciate them."

"I'm glad. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that I can help in anyway," she said sadly. "I've never seen these children here at the orphanage in my years of working here."

"I'm sure you haven't because they're no longer children," Alice said, shocking the woman. "My sister passed away thirteen years ago; these two are sixteen years old teenagers."

"My goodness, thirteen years ago? But, you're so young yourself. Your sister must have been quite a bit older then you to have been considering adoption."

"Yes she was. She was nineteen when she passed, and I was six. Indeed an age gap between us. Never the less, I always, in the back of my mind, remembered all the joy and happiness that these two children brought my sister, and vowed to find them again someday and show them that they did indeed have a family, one that they have always been a part of."

"Well, I must say, you are quite young yourself. Providing for children, especially teenagers, can be a lot of work and expensive."

"Thank you for your concern," Alice said sweetly, trying not to roll her eyes. "However, my husband and I are very well off and can easily provide for them. After all, we do send a sizable donation here every year, being that we are its top benefactors."

The woman's eyes grew wide once more at these words, wondering if the girl's words were true. Though logically, she should be inclined to ask more questions and get more information from her, something about being in the girl's presence compelled her to trust her. Opening up the files on the computer, the woman turned back to Alice, hands at the ready.

"Do you know anything about them? A name perhaps?"

"Cecil and Cleopatra Caesar," Alice said with a smile, though it faltered at the frown that came to the woman's face as she typed away. "Is there a problem?"

"No, of course not, it's just…" the woman paused, trying to find the best way to explain this to the girl without hurting her feelings. "The Caesar twins are known for a lot of things around here, for their…discrepancies."

"And what do you mean by that?" Alice said, venom lacing her voice.

"Thay're…troublemakers," she said carefully after seeing that she had angered the girl. "The two of them get into fights and things of that nature all the time at school, have been arrested numerous times by the police, and have been caught doing many heinous things, including stealing, cheating and tampering with other people's property. Yes, the Caesar twins have made quite the name for themselves here."

"I see," Alice said, trying to hide her annoyance and shock at the way the woman talked of them. If she were being honest with herself, she was also upset with herself; she should have seen these things in her visions, but not long after they had moved, she had forced herself to stop looking at their futures because anytime she did, Edward would get on her case or send Carlisle to talk to her. Because of this, Alice could do no more then check every so often on them by contacting the orphanage and being sure that they were being well taken care of, but that was beyond difficult as the orphanage could not legally give her any information on them. It was then that Alice began to anonymously send a sizable contribution to the orphanage, going out of her way to be sure that she was there for them in some way.

"For yours, and your family's sake, I think it'd be best to not pursue them. I understand the connection that you feel to them and your sister, but-"

"I thank you for your concern, but this really doesn't concern you," Alice interrupted, startling her. "Now, if you would be so kind, I'd like to find them as soon as possible."

The woman was quiet for a moment before typing at the computer once more, finding the file with the twins names on it. Scribbling down their info, she handed it to Alice.

"This is the last known location of their residency. They were taken in by a foster family, but we haven't had any updates since they were taken in eighteen months ago. That is all I can do for you."

"Thank you," she said sweetly, taking the paper and turning to leave without another word. Although this didn't go as well as she had hoped, it was a step in the right direction. Now that she knew where to look, Alice hoped that she could use her visions to see them, and if so, she would be able to find them much easier now. Of course, that too was not guaranteed, but even so, Alice knew she would stop at nothing to find her kids.

A smile graced her lips once more. "Mommy's coming home, just you wait."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The cool, late fall weather swept around him as he walked down the street, though the boy hardly noticed it in his tightly zipped leather jacket. His old backpack hung limply over his shoulder, bouncing unceremoniously with each step of his aged black boots.

The boy was very lanky, having a smaller frame then most would expect given his above average height, but it was clear that he had muscle on him. His skin was a lovely cream color, his cheeks having a rosy tinge to them from the cold air that brushed his face. His hair was a deep chocolate brown, a trait that added to the consistent sense of danger that wafted off of him. The cool blue pools of his eyes helped to take the edge off, giving way to the belief that the boy was better-behaved then he actually was.

Alice looked on in wonder at how well the young man had grown in her absence. At this thought, she couldn't help the twinge of remorse she felt, but ignored it as she sat on a bench on the far end of the park, out of his site, though, of course, she could still hear and see him perfectly as if he were right in front of her. Her golden eyes danced over his dark jeans and t-shirt, making her cringe at the absurdity of his choice in apparel, but could nonetheless say that she was thrilled to see him after so long.

"Cecil," she whispered, joy swelling in her heart. Even after all these years, she could easily recognize his scent; the pleasing mint like scent that she remembered having been sweet when he was a small child, had morphed, changing to a more earthly, fresh fragrance, but it was still his and still unmistakable to her.

It hadn't taken long for her to find her way to western suburban area that the address had pointed her to. The house that she had found was an older looking building, but it was very well taken care of, that much she could see. Behind the house were manmade woods, trees and foliage, giving her a perfect covering to keep out of site of unwanted eyes from any neighbors around or anyone passed by. However, that meant very little to her as she watched the occupants of the home go about their lives.

From what she could tell, there were a total of eight occupants; two parents, and six children, including the twins. The father and mother were clearly in the mid forties, both blonde and aging not so gracefully. The mother was very thin, but held an air of authority about her, telling Alice that she was no doubt very strict and the primary parental figure in the house. The father, whom she found outside raking leaves in their yard, looked very tired, his poster much more relaxed and slouched, giving her the impression that he was less concerned about things.

Making her way around the house, Alice carefully peered into the windows on the upper floor as she searched for anything that would give her a lead. The first room was very bright and colorfully painted. The walls were a light shade of pink, adored with various pictures and posters of cartoon characters and boy bands. The floor was littered with toys and stuffed animals of all kinds. On each side were twin white dressers that no doubted held clothes for the two little girls the room belonged to. Alice could see the two of them playing in the room happily at the moment.

The younger one, who couldn't be any more than six, happily bounced a doll around on the floor, her golden curls framing her face. The other one, a preteen by the looks of it, sat on the floor next to her, doodling away in a note pad, her equally blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. The two were clearly sisters, their facial features identical to the parents'.

Though Alice was left with a pleasant feeling at the scene, they weren't who she was looking for, causing her gaze to shift to the next room. This room was painted a deep seafoam green, but was decorated identically to the previous one, posters of superheroes and sports stars in place of the boy bands.

The two occupants of this room were older than their counter parts, the younger of the two being about the same age at the older blonde girl, a video game controller in his hand as he sat in front of a small TV and tapped away on the buttons. He too shared his family's blonde hair as well as the facial features of his two parents. The older one, who had his face buried in a magazine, was clearly a teenager, and the oldest of his siblings. His hair, though a shade of blonde, was much darker, looking similar to that of wet sand. A large pair of noise cancelling headphones distracted him from his brother's loud game playing, something that seemed almost overly routine for them.

Alice frowned, annoyed that she hadn't caught a single glimpse of either of the twins in the house, nor had she had a single vision of them since her arrival. A bit of dread settled in her at that thought; what if they weren't here? What if the twins had been sent to another home? Had she missed them?

Refusing to give up so quickly after she had tracked them down, Alice closed her eyes, rubbing her temples as she tried to focus on the future. At first, she was getting nothing of significance; cloudy weather for a more few days, Esme and Roselie going shopping; Carlisle having to leave for emergency surgery.

Then, like lightning, it hit her. The vision was of a young boy, a teenager, walking down the path in the park down the street with an annoyed grimace on his face as he looked at the note in his hand. The vision quickly changed to one of a wrist watch, the very wrist watch Alice was wearing, showing her the time; 4:10 pm.

Blinking her way back into reality, Alice looked at her watch; she would come across him in five minutes. A smile etched onto her perfect face as she turned and raced away to where she now found herself watching him.

As she sat on a bench in the park, watching him closely with every step, she contemplated how to approach this. Or, she did, until she was suddenly joined by another person. Another smile came to her face, though her gaze remained focused on the boy.

"I can't say I'm surprised. I've been expect you," she said, a tone of playfulness in her voice.

The blonde man gave a low chuckle, throwing his arm over her shoulder and pulling her close to him as he whispered in her ear. "You're never surprised, my darling, Alice. You knew I was coming the second I did."

"Of course you're right, Mr. Whitlock. I did know you were coming. After all, you do have a tendency to be a bit overprotective. Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you were following me."

"Why, I'd never dream of it," Jasper said before following her gaze to the boy. "Is that one of them?"

"Yep. That's Cecil."

"I must say, he looks quite the troublemaker, if his emotions are anything to go off of. He's full of a lot of angst and anger."

"Apparently he and his sister have been quite the troublemakers these past few years," Alice said with a sigh. "This will, no doubt, make approaching them more difficult."

"Approaching them?" Jasper asked, looking at her as if she were joking. "Alice, you can't. You're not even supposed to be trying to find them; Carlisle would have your head if he knew you were doing this. If you engage them-"

"When, I engage them," she corrected. "I've made up my mind, Jazz. I can't just sit back and pretend that they aren't there, especially now that I have a chance to be back in their lives. I'm going to talk to them."

Jasper sighed into his hand; he knew this was a bad idea, letting her go digging for information on the two human children. Not that he could have stopped her, but he knew he should have at least tried to persuade her more to not pursue this, even though he knew she would do so with or without his help.

Looking back at the boy, Jasper definitely could feel the rage of emotions that were going on in him. Most were normal and common amongst teens, making it easy to suppress the unwanted ones. But the one that seemed to be the strongest for him was anger. The boy had quite the temper, though based on the way his shoulders were relaxed and how even his breathing and heartbeat were, Jasper could tell it was the calm kind of anger, which he regarded as the more dangerous kind of anger as it came with a very silent tendency to get even and be vengeful, as well as cold and calculating. The boy was dangerous, for a human anyway, that much was certain, and though Jasper didn't wish to engage him like his wife did, he couldn't help the natural curiosity that made him want to find out more about him and find out why he was so angry.

"Alice, I understand how important this is to you, but we can't go about involving ourselves in the lives of humans like this. I mean, look at what happened before. The only reason that we're here is because of what happened in Forks," Jasper said, holding down the pit of guilt that still haunted him. "If that's not a sign that we shouldn't do this, then what is it a sign of?"

"Fate," she said with a sweet smile. "It's a sign that fate, like mother, knows best."

Jasper could only look at her, flabbergasted at her reasoning, and knowing that he had lost yet another battle. With a shake of his head, he tightened his grip around her and the two returned to watching the boy as he walked down the path.

A groan of annoyance escaped the boy's mouth as he pocketed the note. He had just finished serving his third detention for the week, something that normally didn't bother him. However, the principal, who he decided was probably the biggest prick on the face of the planet, had demanded that he give the note to his foster parents to schedule a conference. Of course, Cecil had no intention of actually giving them the note; why give them more leverage against him? They already hated him and Cleo as it was, so why give them an excuse to get pissy at him?

Speaking of his younger sister, Cecil silently wondered where she had gotten off to, having told her not to wait up for him after school. He knew she hadn't gone home; the two rarely went home alone, mostly because it would give the impression that one of them had been up to something if they came back without the other one. Or, at least, that was the impression that Mary, their foster mother, had always drawn when it happened.

As he passed the park, he couldn't help rubbing his cheek where there would no doubt be a bruise forming in the next couple of days which would be evidence of his getting into yet another fight at school. He didn't know why, but Cecil knew that he loved to fight. Maybe because it was an outlet for his frustration? Or perhaps because unlike everything else he had to deal with in his life, there were no rules, and he was in full control. That seemed more like it.

In the long string of fights he'd been in, Cecil had very rarely lost. He was smart and quick on his feet, which came in very handy in one on one fights. He may not have been the biggest person there was in a fight, but he damn sure was going to come out the victor. Having been in so many, Cecil could tell what a person's strengths were and what their weaknesses were, and more often than not, it was size. Not to mention the fact that he always fought dirty, going for and taking any advantage that he could. This included using weapons he found on the ground, attacking people while down or even using their vulnerabilities.

Needless to say, his reputation at school was not a good one; if you pissed him off or challenged him to a fight, you'd best be ready to go home with at the very least a broken bone. Even when ganged up on and outnumbered, Cecil was hard to take down; the boy just had a natural keen to fighting, and could maneuver his way very skillfully in battle, making it more of a spectacle than a serious problem. It was almost as if he could force his opponents to go and move how he wanted so he could take them down.

But that was what he had to do to protect himself and his sister.

Growing up, Cleo had always needed him to protect her; she wasn't a fighter, at least not physically. Whereas he was the muscle, she was the brain. That was just how it was with them. Cleo got the better grades, Cleo was the quick thinker and Cleo was the smart one who always knew how to cover their tracks. Or at least she always tried to.

Cecil knew without a doubt that they would be a lot worse off if it hadn't been for Cleo's always over thinking mind, but there were even some things that even she couldn't get them out of. Which is where he came in. Cleo had always tried to be a pacifist, avoiding confrontation if possible. However, that didn't mean she was defenseless; she just couldn't fight anywhere as well as her brother. Luckily for her, she never really had to.

Everyone knew of the Caesar twins; Cleo, the smart, quiet girl who could use her words to talk her way out of must any situation, and Cecil, the skillful, fighting machine of a boy who would know you teeth out of your head if it meant that he could get his way. Their reputation kept most, if not all, of the students away from them, something that neither of them minded at all. People liked to make fun of them and gossip about them, but that meant little to either of them; why waste your time caring about the thoughts of people they were never going to see again?

It was also a well known fact that though Cleo was the better of the two, she was not innocent. She was much more sneaky and careful about her way, easily stealing money or other valuables, and placing the blame on her foster siblings. Of course, seeing as they didn't get along with the others, she never truly felt bad about. She also knew her foster parents couldn't stand either of them, but kept them around for the government aid that they received for it. This just spurred her on even more to upset them; anytime something came up missing, her foster mother would instantly point at her, but would she do when the evidence point to her own children? Of course, this didn't stop her from blaming the twins, not that it mattered.

Cecil felt a bit responsible for his sister's behavior, having convinced her that they had to do whatever it took to survive, even if it meant hurting other people. Cleo had been skeptical at first, but as the years went by, it became second nature to the both of them to not care about others. Cecil only cared about himself and his sister. The same couldn't be said about her.

Cecil could still remember the face of their "mother", so to speak. When they were very young and still at the orphanage, there was a woman who used to visit every day and would help out around there, giving the two of them extra care and attention. She always looked after them, bringing them special treats, taking them on special trips and always tucking them into bed before she left.

Her face was pale, void of any real color. Her hair was a dark, black color, a huge contrast to her skin. Her eyes were like honey, a golden color that you could swim in, and her frame was slim and small. That was the way Cecil remembered her, though he rarely ever bothered to do so. She was like an angel; so beautiful and so caring.

When she had first gotten there, they had asked her what her name was. They were so captured by her beauty, that they had to know more about her.

" _Alice," she said sweetly as she kneeled in front of them. "My name is Alice."_

" _You're really pwetty," Cleo said with a smile, Cecil nodding his head in agreement._

" _Well, thank you. You're both the cutest kids I've ever met in my whole life," said told them with a smile of her own._

From that day on, he and his sister had been mesmerized and only ever wanted to be around her when she was there, never bothering with the other caretakers or volunteers.

He remembered that he and Cleo were so attached to her, loved her dearly, as she did them; she told them so, and told them quite often that she did. That is what prompted to ask her the question.

" _Alice, will you be our mommy?" the twins asked her. Alice held a perfect smile on her face as she embraced them. Her cold skin was a strange sensation to the two of them, but they loved her for it; it made her so much different and unique from the other adults that they had met._

" _Yes, I will be your mommy," she said, her heart swelling in her chest. Though she had seen it coming, nothing in the world could ever actually prepare her for this moment, no matter how hard she tried. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, the venom stinging, but she didn't mind. She didn't mind one bit._

" _Do you promise?" Cecil asked as she let me go to look at them._

" _Yes, I promise," she said before an idea struck her. Holding up her pinky, she asked, "Why don't we make a pinky promise?"_

" _What a pinky promise?" Cleo asked._

" _A pinky promise is a special, important promise that can never be broken. When you make a pinky promise, it means that no matter what happens, you have to keep true to that promise, for the rest of your life. Do you guys want to do that?" The twins nodded eagerly, their eyes shining with wonder. "Ok, now hold out your right pinky like me." The twins followed her instructions, mimicking her hand motion. "Good job. Now, I want you to repeat the words that I say. Say "I" and then your full name. I, Alice Cullen-now you say, "I, Cecil Caesar" and you say "I, Cleopatra Caesar."_

" _I, Cecil Caesar," he repeated._

" _I, Creopata Caesar," Cleo said, having trouble pronouncing her own full name, but Alice couldn't help the smile that was on her face._

" _Promise to," Alice continued then paused._

" _Promise to," they said in unison._

" _To love, protect and cherish-"_

" _To wove, potect and sharish-"_

" _The people I love-"_

" _The peopoe I wove-"_

" _For the rest of my life-"_

" _For the west of my wife-"_

" _In the good times and bad-"_

" _In the good times and bad-"_

" _When I'm happy and when I'm sad."_

" _When I'm happy and when I'm sad."_

 _Alice didn't think her smile could get any bigger, but she was wrong. As she brought her finger forward, the twins followed, hooking their pinky fingers around hers as she did theirs._

" _I love you, Cecil. I love you, Cleo," she said, though what happened next shocked her, and even her visions couldn't predict it._

" _I wove you, Mommy," they said, wrapping them small arms around her neck and hugging her. Alice returned the hug, a wonderful bliss settling into her as she never wanted to leave that moment._

For a while, everything was great. They were like one big happy family and everything seemed to be going perfectly for them. And then, one day, she Alice never showed up. Cecil and Cleo were confused and hurt, spending the entire day wondering where she was and why she hadn't shown up. They asked one of the other volunteers who knew her well, and the look on the woman's face confused them. Now, of course, Cecil knew what the look was; she was conflicted. How was she supposed to explain what death was to two three year olds? How do you explain that the person you cared about most in the world was dead, and was never coming back? That you were never going to see her again?

It wasn't easy, but she did it. The pain that he felt that day was immeasurable. Cleo cried for so long, as did he, holding onto each other for dear life, afraid that if they let go, they would follow the same fate as her. It broke the heart of the volunteer to have to tell them, but it was better that they knew and stopped looking for her. It just hurt her that kids so young would have to deal with such a loss, regardless of the fact that they were not actually related to the woman.

A few days later, a gift showed up for them. The same volunteer opened it, smiling at the small framed photo of the three of them. The frame was made of pure steel, meaning the photo was perfectly protected, and would be for a very long time. In the photo, you could see the twins, sitting on Alice's lap, her arms wrapped around them, big smiles on everyone's face. The photo had been taken nearly a year before, only about a month or so after Alice had begun volunteering there. She remembered because she had taken it.

The back of the frame was engraved with words that she knew had have come from Alice herself.

"Never forget to watch out for each other because I'll always be watching out for you, Mommy."

When they had been given the photo, Cleo clung to it for dear life. Cecil remembered how she used to hold it while sleeping, telling everyone that it was her way of being close to their mother. To this day, Cleo still clung to it whenever she needed a boost or a bit of reassurance.

If there was one thing he could say though, it was that they had held up their promise to always watch out for each other.

"Don't you ever get tired of detention," a voice said to him. Cecil stopped in tracks, looking to find a girl as she stood from her spot under a tree. Her hair was a light blonde, contrasting with his own dark locks, though that seemed to be the only real difference between the two of the, aside from her height, which was at least half a foot shorter than him. Everything else about her matched his features, from the shape of her face and color of her skin, to the shimmering blue of her eyes.

"Not my fault the principal's a prick, Cleo," Cecil said, addressing his sister as she put her book in her backpack. "So this is where you decided to go instead of home?"

"Well I'm not exactly all too eager to have Ms. Mary scrutinizing my every move," she replied, folding her arms over her jacket. "So caused this one?"

"Nothing really. Couple of jocks tried to jump me again, so I kicked their asses. Of course, I was the only one still standing, and only one who doesn't get let off for this crap."

"Do you ever really expect to?" she said with a roll of her eyes.

Cecil gave a small smirk, throwing an arm around her shoulders as they began walking home. "Nope, not really."

From their same spot on the bench, Alice and Jasper watched the two walk back toward the home she had been to earlier, smile still on her face the wind blew, giving her a quick whiff of Cleo's scent. Much like her brother, she had a minty scent about her, only hers had a bit of a cinnamon spice to it, reminding her of peppermint, but without cool freshness.

She looked to Jasper to see that he too had gotten a whiff but seemed to be ok, his gazed focused on their retreating forms.

"What do you feel?" she asked.

"Compassion, is the main feeling," he said. "They care about each other very dearly, that's for sure."

"I'm glad," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "They've needed each other without me; still do. I just wish I could have been there more."

"I know you do," he said, kissing her forehead and rubbing her arm.

The two sat silently for a while, enjoying the peace that they had in the park on that autumn day, leaves of red, yellow and brown cascading down around them. Eventually they decided it was best to head home, before their family began to worry. With one last reluctant sigh, Alice looked toward the direction her children had gone, promising that they would be reunited soon before taking Jasper's outstretched hand and disappearing into the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The tumblers turned as Cecil turned his key and opened the front door for him and Cleo. The footsteps creaked as they walked on the hardwood floors, alerting everyone that they were home.

A loud barking echoed around the house as the small husky puppy ran to the door to greet them. Or at least, greet Cleo.

"Whoa, down boy," she said with a laugh as he repeatedly tried to jump on top of her. "I missed you too, Wolf."

"Mangy mutt," Cecil mumbled as he walked further into the living room. Cecil had never been too fond of the family dog, ever since they had gotten him last year. His foster parents had gotten him only three months after he and Cleo had been brought there. Mary had told the younger ones that they had gotten him as a way to bring them together as a family, but the twins knew it was bull; the dog had been brought in as a precaution in case the twins were really as bad as they had heard. Which they were, of course.

Mary had hoped to use him as a way to know when they were up to something, especially if they snuck out of the house, considering that he was so loud and energetic. What she hadn't expected, however, was that the dog would become so attached to Cleo. In fact, for the most part, Wolf only obeyed her and Sarah, the youngest of the family.

"Don't be mean to Wolf, Cecil," Cleo reprimanded playfully as she pet the soft fur on his back. "You know he loves you."

"Oh, yeah, I really felt the love when he bit me last week," he replied sarcastically as she headed toward the basement stairs, though his path was instantly cut off as his foster mother walked in from the kitchen, a displeased look on her face. Cleo looked up, the smile slipping from her face as well at the hard look she was receiving from the older woman. Cecil held back a groan and an eye roll, but quietly mumbled, "Speaking of biting…"

"Where the hell have you two been?" Mary barked, arms crossed over her chest. "You were supposed to be home an hour ago."

"We got a little caught up after school," Cleo said, walking up to stand next to her brother. "Cecil came with me while I looked for a job."

"Bullshit. You're lying through your teeth, and I know it."

"Piss off, Mary," Cecil said, moving to go past. Mary grabbed him arm, halting him in his escape. Cecil looked at her with annoyed grimace, knowing good and well he could pull away from her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Where does it look like I'm going? Now get your hands off me before I make you take them off me," he threatened.

"Hey, don't talk to my mom that way, you asshole."

The twins turned to the stairs to see the oldest of their foster siblings coming down the stairs before marching up to Cecil. The boy was a few inches shorter the Cecil, and was very thin, having very little muscle. His body was ridged, eyes wide as he tried to hide his nervousness, though the subtle shaking in his posture was very evident to Cecil who couldn't help the smirk that came to his face.

"Oh, and what are you gonna do about it, Ryan?" he said, freeing himself from Mary's grasp and moving closer to him. The intimidation was instantaneous as he gave the younger boy a light shove, pushing him into the adjacent wall and towered over him. Ryan could feel his body shaking even more as he stared into Cecil's cold, blue eyes. This wasn't the first time he had tried to stand up to Cecil, but much like this time, he always seemed to lose his resolve once he was face to face with him. Cecil's smirk grew as he slammed his hand on the wall near Ryan's head, making him jump.

"Stop it, you little shit," Mary yelled, yanking Cecil away from her son. Cecil laughed at them both, shuffling past them and through the kitchen. Cleo said nothing as she followed behind him, ignoring the look that Mary was giving them. "You little monsters are getting on my last nerve. One more screw out of either of you, and you're both outta here, you got that!?"

"That threat would have more effect if you weren't using us as an easy source of government money," Cleo said.

"Don't you back sass me, you little whore," Mary said. Cleo could feel her composure slipping as she turned to the woman, a look of disgust on her face.

"You're one to talk, Miss Pot calling the kettle black."

"Excuse me? I will not have you two talking to me like that in MY home!"

"And yet, here we are," Cecil said, rolling his eyes as he opened the door to the basement and descending them. Cleo stopped at the top of the stairs, allowing Wolf to slip past her down the stairs as she turned back to Mary.

"We're no more excited about having to be here then you are, and you can believe that we'll be out of here as soon as we can be. So in the mean time, maybe you could try learning not to be such a bitch. You'll live longer and get less wrinkles," she said before giving the basement door a deafening slam.

Cleo trudged down the stairs into the small living area that she and her brother shared. At the back wall, furthest from the stairs, was a small television that they shared, flanked by two desks. Their dressers were on the walls next to their beds, each one getting half the area for themselves. The floor had been carpeted many years ago, leaving a rough, aged feeling to it after it lost its softness. The cement walls were grey and dull, sucking all the energy from anyone who came down there.

Looking over to her desk, her eyes fell upon the picture of them and their mother, a feeling of longing rising in her that she didn't feel she could handle at the moment.

Turning away from it, Cleo made her way to her bed, lying down on the purple plush covers next to Wolf. Cecil had tossed his bag down on the ground next to his bed post, depositing his jack on the chair of his desk as he lay on his bed and began to flip through channels aimlessly.

Cleo closed her eyes as she snuggled up to her husky, her anger slowly subsiding as it was replaced by a feeling of sadness. It never made sense to her that people could be so cruel and harsh for no reason, especially foster parents. If you weren't going to give the children love and support, what was the point of doing this? The government stipend that they received for the two of them wasn't very much, though maybe they received more since they had filed for disability for Frank, their foster father. Though the man was perfectly healthy, he had convinced a friend of his who was a physician to help him lie on his forms, and so he was able to get an easy, well paying job where he didn't have to do much but shut on his ass all day.

It made them sick, but what could they do about it?

Lifting her hand to his head, Cleo rubbed Wolf's head, his soft agouti colored fur leaving a pleasant feel on her fingers. Though it was only a momentary distraction, Cleo loved these moments of peace she got with her brother and dog. Looking up, Cleo could tell that Cecil wasn't paying her any attention, having finally settled on a motorcycle show. He had never been the in touch with his feeling kind of person, except when it came to his anger; he knew that feeling all too well.

"I'll never understand your obsession with those motorized, two wheeled death machines," she said.

"You don't need to understand it, just accept it," he replied, eyes still focused on the TV as he didn't even spare her a single glance. "Just like I deal with that mangy mutt of yours."

The dog in question growled low in his throat as he stared at Cecil, knowing full and well he was talking about him, but Cleo quickly quieted him back down as she continued to pet him. As Wolf rested his head back on his paws, Cleo gave her brother a glare.

"Don't be mean to wolf. He's a hell of a lot better company then some stupid bike," she said. Cecil rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to respond to her jab. Though his silence was really clearing upsetting her, Cleo took a few deep breaths, deciding to just forget about his attitude. "You know what? I'm not in the mood to fight with your right now."

"Whatever, I'm not the one who's getting all upset over nothing," he said nonchalantly, knowing full and well that he was annoying her, though for the time being, he didn't really care. They may be siblings, but the two of them got on each other's nerves consistently, a consequence of being around each other all the time.

Cecil waited for her to respond, but as the minutes went by, and still nothing, he turned his head toward her, and was surprised to see a few tears in her eyes as she rested her head on her pillow. Guilt instantly flooded his body at the sight of his sister crying, making Cecil feel bad. He never liked to see Cleo crying, and he disliked it even more when he was the cause of it. Even when they got into a heated argument, if she was crying, he would apologize for it.

"Hey, don't cry," he said, sitting up and facing her. "I'm sorry, Cleo. I was just being an ass."

"Yeah, you were," she agreed, wiping a few tears away. "But that's not why I'm crying. You just gave me a reason to let the tears out."

"Wanna tell me what's wrong?" he asked, but paused as he figured it out. "Does it have something to do with what Mary said?" When he only response was a nod, Cecil sighed. "Cleo, come on. You know she's just a bitter old hag who can't keep off her knees. She's just trying to get to you. We both know that you're not a whore."

"I know, but it's just hard to deal with sometimes. A girl can only take so much mental abuse before she starts to question everything about herself."

"Cleo, you've never done anything with anyone. You're not a whore. We may have been on the streets for a while before we taken into foster care, but you and I both know you never did anything, and there was no way in hell I'd ever let it get to the point where that was even an option. I'm you big brother, it's my job to protect you, now and forever. And I won't let some dried up old witch like Mary say otherwise."

"Thanks, Cecil," she said quietly, glad to hear him say it, though it didn't make her feel much better. "I wish we didn't have to stay here. I wish there was a way for us to just disappear."

"Yeah, I know; me too. But just remember, we only have to deal with this crap for a bit longer. I know a year seems like a long time, but it'll be over with soon. And we can get out of here and disappear for good. You, me and Wolf," he said, bringing a small smile to her face. "We can leave all these crappy memories behind."

Her smile fell, worrying him. Cleo turned away from him, not wanting to see his face as she asked the question she was sure would upset him.

"What about the good ones?" she asked quietly. "…what about Mom?"

Cecil clenched his fists in his lap, head held down and away from his sister, he body going ridge in anticipation of his anger. It wouldn't be the first time that he lashed out and yelled at her, and though she knew he didn't mean to take out his anger on her, she couldn't lie and say that it didn't scare her sometimes. Of course, she also knew that he would never hurt her; at least not on purpose.

Cleo often wondered where this anger had come from, considering that they knew nothing of their biological parents; the possibility that it was genetic crossed her mind often. However, if she had to put a real guess on it, his anger most likely stemmed from his feelings for their mother. Cleo had always wished that they could have grown with her, but, of course, there was nothing that could be done to combat reality of death.

Cecil, on the other hand, found away though to put all of the blame for their lives on everyone else, especially the family that they could have had or that could have adopted them. The family that could have been and never was or would be. The anger and hurt that radiated off of him would be one that would most likely never heal, not matter what she tried to do to help, and this hurt Cleo, knowing she could never help her brother.

"It's like I told you before, Cleo," he said, eyes to the floor, "orphans don't have mothers."

* * *

Alice practically danced into the house, Jasper right on her heels. Today had been exciting, at least to her anyway. He was just glad that they were finally home, thankful that their little adventure would be kept quiet from the others. Carlisle would have their heads if he knew what they were up too.

As these thoughts passed his mind, the father figure himself came downstairs, medical uniform on and bag in hand.

"Well, someone's in a good mood," he smiled at Alice as she nodded her head. "Unfortunately, I have to rush off to the hospital. A woman has gone into labor unexpectedly-"

"Unexpectedly for some," Alice corrected, bringing a smile to his face again.

"Yes, and I thank you for the warning, Alice. Anyway, Esme, Roselie and Emmett are out hunting. I don't think they're out too far, so you should be able to catch up."

"Actually, I think we'll go out later," she said, holding her husband's hand, a smile coming to his face as her eyes gleamed with mischief. "I think Jasper and I could use a little quality time."

Carlisle smiled, patting his adopted son on the shoulder before exiting, calling over his shoulder, "Just be sure that the house is still standing when you're done."

Alice smiled, waving her fingers at him as he closed the door and got into his car. As they listened to his car drive away, she quickly spun around in Jasper's grasp, kissing him passionately and throwing her arms around his neck in an attempt o draw him in closer to her. Jasper responded in quite the same manner, hands on her hips as he pulled. A low growl rippled in the back of his throat before they pulled away from each other.

"Well, someone's certainly frisky all of a sudden," Jasper said, the love and happiness radiating off his wife.

"Well, today has been a very special and productive day," she said, running her hands up and down his chest. "I just wanted to reward you for being so patient with me today, and since the others won't be back for another six hours…" her voice trailed off, her eyes looking at him seductively. Jasper could feel as her passion suddenly changed to lust, infecting him and adding to his own as she bit her lip and continued to run her hands over him.

In a flash, Jasper had a hold of her, running at full speed up to their bed room as Alice giggled. Quickly throwing her onto the bed, he slammed the door closed before returning to his waiting wife, his hands roaming her body as their lips met before he pinned her hands above her head. A loud ripping sound caught her attention, making her growl in both arousal and frustration. Jasper merely grinned against her lips, knowing full and well that it would only serve to drive her even more insane.

"Mhmm…you're lucky that I'm going shopping with Roselie and Esme tomorrow, mister," she said, never breaking their contact.

"Whatever you say," Jasper said with a smirk, deciding not to waste anymore time talking.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was near dawn when Jasper and Alice had returned from hunting, their eyes aglow with energy and life. The house was surprisingly quiet that morning, though it didn't seem to bother either of them as they entered their home to find their family busy with various activities.

Rosalie and Esme were looking up the items that they were going to be purchasing later on that afternoon online and discussing where they would go. Esme had a few interior decorating ideas that she was hoping to try out, and was more interested in the various selections that she had come across, while Rosalie was more interested in the clothes for that season as well as a few pieces of jewelry. Upon hearing the couple return, the mother and daughter looked up and greeted them.

"Welcome back, you two," Esme said with a warm smile. "Rose and I were just trying to decide where we were going to head first when we go shopping this afternoon, but can't seem to agree on anything."

"Esme wanted to wait for you to help us choose," Rosalie said with a small roll of her eyes. "I told her why even bother when you know that Alice will just decide on where we were going and that would be the end of it."

"She's right," Alice said with a smile as she joined them on the couch. "I've already seen and have the entire day planned out for us, and I can tell you that you're both wrong."

"Of course we are. So where exactly are we headed then?"

Alice opened her mouth to answer when she suddenly stopped, her eyes glazing over for a moment as a vision hit her.

 _Cleo looked down at the purple article of clothing dejectedly. The hole, while not extremely large, was no doubt very noticeable and would only get worse the more she tried to wear it, eventually making the entire sweater un-wearable. Poking her hand into the sleeve, she tested it out, her fingers wiggling through the hole at the elbow, her face slipping even more into a frown at the sight of it._

" _What wrong?" Cecil asked, zipping up his jacket._

" _My sweater," she said unhappily, though her back was still turned to him._

" _What about it?"_

" _There's a hole in the sleeve; I can't wear it now."_

" _So? Just put on something else."_

" _That's not the point, Cecil," she said, giving him an exasperated sigh. "This was my favorite sweater and now it's ruined."_

" _Why can't you just sew it back up?" he asked as he walked over and picked up the sleeve, examining it himself. "You've fixed our clothes plenty of times."_

" _This isn't the same. Fixing a tear is easy, but a hole doesn't close up if you can't stitch it properly, and I'm nowhere near good enough to do that. Everything I did for our clothes before was total guess work and shotty at best. I'd actually have to take it to a professional to get it fixed properly, and I don't have the money for that."_

 _Cecil could see the disappointment on his sister face, and gingerly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He gave her a light squeeze before speaking again._

" _We'll figure it out. But let's get out of here; the homecoming game is gonna be starting soon."_

 _Cleo nodded her head, tossing the sweater on top of her bed carelessly and grabbing her jacket instead. Securing it closed, she turned on her heels and made her way toward the stairs, Cecil following behind her._

As the vision came to a close, Alice blinked her eyes, coming back to reality. Jasper had moved in front of her, holding her hand and looking at her expectantly while Rosalie held a hand on her shoulder, waiting to hear what she had to say. Her eyes locked onto her mate's, a small smile playing at her lips which made him relaxing in knowing that they weren't going to be in any immediate danger.

Though the situation wasn't exactly a good one, it made Alice happy; not only was she successfully getting visions of Cleo and Cecil again, but now she needn't worry about anyone finding out about her seeing them. She could and would easily grab the sweater from their room before they awoke, and would easily mend it, her own sewing skills beyond that of any professional that they would have to pay for. After that, it would be a simple matter of sneaking back into the house before they woke up and saw her. Though she was certain that Jasper wouldn't like the idea one bit, he would no doubt help her with it, just to ensure that she wouldn't be in any danger; not that she could be in any danger when it came to humans, especially with her visions.

The idea was simple, and would definitely work without any problems, so long as her family didn't wise up to her plans, which she would see before it happened anyway.

"What did you see?" he asked her quietly.

"Is everything alright?" Esme asked.

"Everything's fine," she said, looking to her and Rosalie. "I just had a vision of something at the shelter I've been helping at. Nothing to be worried about."

"Well, that's a relief," Esme said happily.

"Now, back to back to business," Rosalie said, turning back to her computer. Alice gave Jasper a look, letting him know that she was ok and that really was nothing to worry about before joining the two women as they continued with their research.

Satisfied with this, Jasper stood back up and exited the living room as he headed to the garage, following Emmett's scent as well as the noises he could hear. To no surprise, he found his brother under the hood of his jeep, giving it a good tune up, though he highly doubted that it needed it given how often he and Rosalie worked on their cars.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Emmett paused momentarily to see who had entered the garage before continuing his work.

"Sup, Jazz?" he called nonchalantly as he tightened a screw.

"Nothing much, came to see what you were up to and getting away from the chatter of the girls," he said, crossing his arms. "Something wrong with the jeep?"

"Nah, just thought it was time to give her a check up and make sure everything was alright."

Jasper snorted, shaking his head side to side. "As if you or Rosalie would let any car in this family ever get remotely even close to being slightly out of shape."

Emmett laughed as he grabbed a towel to wipe the oil from his hands. "You got that right. So…" he paused, making sure he hands were clean before looking back to Jasper. "How are the kids?"

The smile instantly faltered on his face, a bit of panic running through his body as confidence radiated from Emmett to go along with his cocky smile.

"Excuse me?" Jasper asked, hoping to play it off.

"The kids? You know, the ones that Alice was taking care of at the orphanage last time we were here. I know you guys went to check up on them. How they doin?"

"I don't-"

"Cut the crap, Jasper," Emmett said coolly. "Everyone else may not have put the pieces together, but I have; I'm not dumb, ok? So drop the charade."

Jasper was quiet for a moment before asking, "How'd you figure it out?"

"You don't have to be a mind reader or an empath to know someone," he said, smirking. "I remember the last time, the way Alice acted, the way she looked and all that. She had that same glow around her last night when you guys went out to hunt, and I knew it wasn't just because you guys were screwing last night. Not to mention, when she left yesterday and said she was going to do charity work, she was dressed up to disguise herself, like she didn't want anyone to recognize her; it was pretty easy to put the pieces together once you left after her and headed in the direction without any warning."

"Emmett, you cannot tell the others about this," he whispered harshly. "If Carlisle found out-"

"Relax, will ya?" Emmett said, picking up a few tools. "I'm not gonna tell anyone and without Edward here, there's no one to tell Carlisle about it."

"Tell me about what?" Carlisle asked, walking into the garage, a few papers in hand. Looking between his sons suspiciously, he asked, "What do you not want to tell me?"

Jasper was quiet as his eyes shifted from his father to his brother who still held both a look of confidence and an air of calm in his emotions while Jasper himself was trying to remain calm as he tried to come up with a convincing lie. Carlisle could tell that something was wrong now that the two of them hadn't said anything. The fact that Emmett was smiling told him that he was up to something while Jasper's shifting eyes and rigidness told him that whatever it was that they were hiding was not good and would displease him.

"Jasper," he asked calmly, knowing full and well that he was more likely to get an honest answer out of him rather than Emmett. "What are you two hiding from me?"

Jasper opened him mouth, not exactly sure what he was going to say, though he was quickly cut off as Emmett decided to answer for him.

"Alright, you caught us," he said, walking over to Jasper and putting an arm around his shoulder. "We are hiding something and were hoping that you wouldn't find out until later."

"Emmett-" Jasper said, though Carlisle's look quieted him, displeasure radiating off of him as he looked at the two expectedly.

"No, Jazz, it's ok," Emmett said, fake seriousness in his voice. "Carlisle's caught us, and there's no point in hiding it. I mean, better now than when Edward comes back and throws a world class hissy fit over it. I mean, you know how he gets about his precious little Volvo."

Jasper tried to hold his surprise as Emmett's words sank in; he wasn't ratting him and Alice out, which he should have known since he had just told him that he wasn't going to tell the others about what they had actually been up to. Glancing at the smirk on Emmett's face, Jasper gave Carlisle a sideways glance before patting his brother on the back.

"I suppose you're right," he said, fake defeat lacing his voice. "It really does seem pointless to hide it now."

"Too bad, too; it would have been way funnier if you didn't know it was coming Carlisle," Emmett said. Carlisle could only shake his head, sighing in exasperation at the two pranksters.

"Do I even want to know what you're planning to do to his car?" he asked, eying the two of them.

"Probably not," Emmett replied with a grin.

"Just be sure that whatever you do to it is reversible. The last time you pranked Edward with his Volvo, you put the engine in a lake," he said, though the small smile on his face betrayed the seriousness he had been trying to portray.

Jasper and Emmett laughed at the memory of that prank. How Emmett had hidden the fact that he was going to do that from Edward for as long as he did was beyond them, but he had and it had been well worth it to see the look on Edward's face when he had come home from hunting to see that his car had been defaced. Of course, Emmett had to go retrieve the engine from the bottom of the lake, after nearly getting ripped to shreds by Edward, but he didn't regret it a bit.

As their laughter died down, Jasper took note of the papers in Carlisle's hand. "Are those the results of the venom test you've been running?"

"Yes, they are," he said, handing Jasper the papers to glance over. "Thank you and Alice both again for the samples. The difference between them and my own is very astounding. Very similar to that of human DNA and the differences in strands."

"Does that mean that each person's venom has different properties then?" Jasper asked in genuine curiosity.

"To an extent, yes, but at the same time, no," he said. Emmett and Jasper looked at him, confusion written over their features. "From what I've been able to tell from the samples I've gain from both you and Alice, the DNA in the venom of each vampire is indeed unique to each person. However, their venom doesn't affect things like a gift; those are strictly based on characteristics brought over from your human life. For example, Maria, you creator, and myself, had no gifts of our own, but when you and Edward were turned, you were found to be gifted. Yet when I turned Esme, Rosalie and Emmett, none of them were gifted either. If you were to turn someone, your being gifted would not affect whether they would be gifted."

"So you mean that there's no way to really know if someone's gonna have a power before you bite them then? It's just a roll of the dice?" Emmett asked, to which Carlisle nodded. "Well that's pretty lame if you ask me. In that case, then that just means we're no different than humans in regards to that."

"But that's where you're wrong Emmett," Carlisle added. "In the case of vampires, you have only one person needed to create you, only one person with a different set of DNA that makes up your own, instead of two. Your DNA becomes unique in that it merges with your creator's DNA and changes your own, but is still traceable back to them, creating a chain similar to that of human lineage."

"Which is why you needed mine and Alice's DNA," Jasper concluded to which Carlisle nodded.

"Indeed, that is why. It would be pointless to try to trace back lineage in my own DNA, as well as the others since I created them all. But your's and Alice's are like a blank slate for me to research. Then there's also the fact that only one set of vampire DNA is required to change a human instead of two. Though I'm sure it would have the same effect, I've always wondered how it would affect human DNA on the molecular level if they were hit with a double dosage of vampire venom from two different vampires. Would it be possible that it could alter their DNA more? Make them stronger in some regards, affect their abilities in others? Again, these are simply ideas and theories, but it's always interesting to think that there is a possibility that they may be true."

"Sounds like some interesting research," Jasper said while Emmett simply rolled his eyes. Before he could speak any further, Alice suddenly appeared at his side, grabbing his hand before looking at her father.

"And we're always more than glad to help out, but if you'll excuse us, Jazz and I have an errand to run," she said. Jasper had long ago learned not to question Alice about her decisions. Her visions were more often than not correct, and even so, a good husband knew when to nod his head and say "Yes, dear" which was usually the best response to his wife's bidding.

Carlisle nodded as Jasper handed him back his notes and gave Emmett one last glance. The larger vampire gave him a knowing smirk as the two disappeared and ran out of the house, Alice leading the way. Jasper had a good feeling about where they were headed, but decided to ask anyway.

"So," he said, grabbing her attention as they ran through the forested area. "Mind telling me what this errand is that we're running?"

"Cleo's sweater ripped and has a hole in it. I'm going to fix it and get it back to her before she wakes up in a few hours, which means we're heading to go see the twins," she said with a smile. "Well, I'm going to see them."

"And I'm going because you knew I wouldn't let you go without me," Jasper said with a sigh as Alice confirmed his thoughts with a nod. "I-"

"Don't think this is a good idea, and could be dangerous. Yes, I know that, Jasper, and no, I didn't need to see the future to know you were going to say that."

Jasper rolled his eyes, though a small smile played at his lips. Even though she was highly eccentric at times, it was one of the many reasons why he loved her. The excitement was always flowing off of her in waves that just warmed his undead heart, and as of late, it seemed to be growing even larger in volume now that she had found Cecil and Cleo, though, of course, he could still feel a bit of her sadness buried under all her happy at not getting to raise them or being able to interact with them like she wanted.

Jasper had felt bad about not agreeing with her and trying to defend her actions the last time that they had been there. It's not that he had never wanted to be a father; in fact, before he was changed, he had always hoped to father offspring of his own, and hoped to live long enough to see that day. But once he had been changed by Maria, that had all lost significance and prospect to him since vampires could not produce children.

There was one other option, which was to create his own vampire, and raise them as his child, but the idea just didn't sit well with him. He had been created to fight newborns and train them to follow orders, something that was difficult for them to do. On top of that, he had the job of disposing of them once they were of no more use to their cause. He had never made a real connection with one except for Peter and Charlotte. Newborns had always been just soldiers to him, and as bad as that may seem, he didn't think he could deal with the pressures of taking care of a newborn when his own instincts would tell him that the best course of action was to simply dispose of them the second that they stepped out of line. That kind of mentality was not something that he wanted his family to see.

Of course, even if he still wanted to pursue this option, given their treat with the Wolves back in La Push, it was null and void. It wasn't as if they were scared of the wolves, or even particularly cared what they thought of them. No, it was the fact that eventually, they would probably return to Forks, many years from now, and they would have to try to hide the information from them. No one in his family was foolish enough to believe that they could hide this information forever, and Jasper would not risk anyone's safety just for the chance to make a vampire to call his own, especially Alice's. And that was if he didn't give into his instincts, draining the poor human of every ounce of blood in their body.

Another reason he didn't like the idea was that it just wouldn't be the same as having a child that he shared with Alice. A child that they had made, that they had created together and loved for all of eternity, just wasn't possible, and turning a human into a vampire, would still lack that very essence as it would only have one of their venom making up the structure of their vampiric DNA.

His mind wandered back to the two kids that he and Alice were currently on their way toward now. Adoption would have been, at least partially, the answer to this problem. They could have raised the two together, made them a part of the family and called them his own. But there was just too much risk in it. His weak resistance to human blood being the biggest danger, but then there was the fact that children could not keep secrets, making the two a danger to them should they discover they were vampires, and it was only a matter of time before that happened. They couldn't risk being revealed like that, even if Alice's visions could warn them that it was going to happen. Not to mention what would happen if the Volturi got wind of it. Even if they were somehow able to slide past all of that without incident, there was still one final thing that would have been a problem and stopped them in their tracks.

Age. The very thing that Edward had been so concerned with when it came to Bella. Once the kids had been old enough, what would they do? Could Alice let her children go, let them become adults and live their lives to the fullest by starting a family of their own and giving birth to their own children? Could she watch as they aged, becoming decrepit and elderly, before the ravages of time finally consumed them and they passed while the two of them remained perfectly the same, stilled by the venom in their veins? Or would she have wanted to change them, taking away their chances at a life like that, forcing them to live the eternal hell that came with being a vampire? The burning of their throats, the constant fighting of self control over your predatory instincts, the blood that they were forced to use to sustain themselves? And of course, the fiery burning that they had to experience in exchange for this existence, something that he wouldn't wish upon even his worst enemies.

No, there was just no way around it. Jasper could not find a reason to agree with Alice on her decision. Jasper had felt terrible about it, but he had to be rational and reasonable, even if that meant disagreeing with his mate. Alice had been devastated, banking on him for support of her wanting to have the twins, and the feeling of sadness that she had felt for the following months had been torture to him. He had tried relentlessly to get her out of her funk, but had failed each and every time. Jasper was sure that her despair would be the cause of his eternal death as he prepared to be consumed by her emotions.

But soon after, she started to open back up and act more like her old self. Jasper had no idea what it had been that had gotten her out of the funk, but he didn't honestly care as long as she was happy again. He had repeatedly apologized to her and begged her for forgiveness, though she repeatedly told him that he didn't need it because she had never been mad or upset with him. He knew that this was true, but he still refused to let up until she finally told him that she forgave him.

Thinking back to that time hurt him greatly, even now, and Jasper was determined to make sure that she didn't end up in that same state again. If that meant indulging her wishes to be a part of the twins' lives, even just from afar and doing things for them while they were there, then he'd gladly do whatever it was she wanted, just to keep that smile on her face and the positive glow of happiness that Emmett had claimed to see around her.

Tightening his grip on her hand, he began to pick up the pace, though being sure not to overtake her speed as their hands were still intertwined. This surprised Alice, though she didn't complain in the least bit as she picked up the pace as well, running pass tree after tree.

"By the way, Emmett's figured out what we've been up to," Jasper commented.

"Oh, I know," she said nonchalantly. "I saw him figuring it out in a vision while I was hunting. I also saw what he's planning to do to Edward's car as soon as he finds out when he's coming back…if he's coming back." She added the last part quietly, still upset that he had just up and left them like he had for his own self isolation. Shaking the thought away, she quickly added with a smile, "We'll have to thank him later for promising to keep it secret. Especially from Rosalie."

Jasper nodded his head in agreement. He knew his sister well enough to know that it would not sit well with her at the fact that he and Alice were sneaking around and doing something that would not only endanger their secrecy, but also that had to do with children, something Rosalie had always, and still, wanted. She would be even more upset if she found out that her husband knew and had been hiding the fact from her.

"I'll talk to him about it later, after you all have left to go shopping," Jasper promised.

"Good. Now, let's hurry up. The twins will be up in a few hours, and we need to get the sweater from their room and back to Cleo before they wake up."

Jasper smirked, picking her up bridal still, causing her to squeak in slight surprise before it turned into joyous laughter as he picked up the pace, and took off at his full speed. Alice wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him tight, knowing full and well that he was faster than she was and that with his increased speed, they'd be on her children's doorstep in no time.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The two vampires walked toward the suburban home with caution, hiding their appearance in the wooded area behind the house. The trees around them had changed color with the changing seasons, a soft, cool breeze pushing against them, the leaves swaying and rustling. Alice stood stock still, Jasper standing next to her, as she examined the house once again that she had been at the previous day as she searched for her children. Her eyes scanned over the same windows that had the day before, allowing her to quickly eliminate the possibilities of where the two teenagers could be.

"Alice?" Jasper called, touching her shoulder lightly, catching her attention. "We have to hurry. We can't be out here too long if you want this plan to work out."

"I know, Jazz," she said, turning back to the house. "I'm just remembering all the rooms that I saw yesterday and who would be in which to save time."

"Do you have a way of getting in? Without drawing attention to yourself?"

Alice rolled her eyes before making a quick dash forward to the backdoor of the house. Jasper quickly followed, watching in curiosity as she ran her hand over the top of the doorframe. A smile came to her face as she pulled back to show him a small golden key that he assumed was for the door.

"How did you-"

"It's interesting, the things that you find out when you stand outside of a house and listen to a disgruntled husband mumble about his wife," she said, a smirk on her face at the small jab toward him. Jasper could only shake his head at her, though a smile was on his face as well. "Apparently she's paranoid enough to make him keep an extra key at every door, but not paranoid enough to buy an alarm system because she doesn't trust someone installing something in her house that they could use to break in themselves or to watch them."

"I wonder how she'd feel if she knew that a vampire was about to sneak in then. Not that any alarm system could actually stop one of us," he mentioned as she put the key into the door and turned it silently. A small clip was the response as a satisfied smile came onto his wife's face. "You've got two minutes, Alice, before I come in there and retrieve you. In and out, no lingering. Understood?"

"Jasper, stop worrying," she said, turning to him and giving him a small peck on the lips. "I'm going in to pick up a sweater. It won't take that long." With that, she opened the door and disappeared in a flash, moving through the house in the blink of an eye.

"That's what you say every time you make me go showing with you," he mumbled, knowing that she could still hear him.

Alice ignored his comment as she made her way through the house, pausing to take a whiff of the various scents that permeated the air. She could easily smell the scent of eight humans, two of which belonged to the twins. However, there was another scent that she hadn't anticipated. The scent of dog hit her nostrils, and Alice grimaced at the smell, reminding her all too well of the Quileute's and their rancid stink that permeated the forest of the Olympic Peninsula. Thankfully, this smell wasn't nearly as bad and much more tolerable for her. Unfortunately, it seemed that the dog's scent was going in the same direction as the twins.

"Great. Another mongrel to deal with," she muttered, following the scent through the kitchen and to the basement door. She paused, a frown coming to her face at the thought of her children being banished to a basement, but continued on, taking one last breath for confidence.

When had she become so nervous? She was only going to go down there, grab the sweater, and run back out before anyone could see or know she was down there. Was it because of the dog? No, there was no way she was going to be afraid of a dog. Even if it started barking and waking everyone up, she could make her way out of the room faster than it would take them to wake up, let alone actually see her.

Deep down, Alice knew that it was the fact that this would be the first time she had actually been near her children since she had last held them, back when they were toddlers. Could she really look into their calm, peaceful, sleeping faces and just leave them again? Forever having the image burned into her perfect memory by the venom in her system?

A wave of confidence hit her as well as a feeling of serenity, and she silently thanked her over protective husband for being there. With a swift turn of the knob, Alice ran into the basement, finding herself in a small room that resembled a small, one bedroom apartment. The room was cramped and very bare, having only two beds, both of which were currently occupied, two desk and dressers, one for each of them, and a small television in between the desk. Just off to the side was a spare room that had been used for a bathroom for them, though that too was smaller compared to most. This only served to anger Alice more, but she was thankful that they at least had a shower and indoor plumbing.

Alice's eyes fell onto Cecil's sleeping face, a much more peaceful scene then what she had seen yesterday. He had grown into a handsome young man, though what mother didn't think that about their son? He had a strong jaw line, and it seemed as though puberty had been very kind to him, his face being clear of almost all acne.

Alice walked forward, standing over him and taking in every feature of his face with great detail, before turning her gaze to his sister. Cleo had grown to be just as beautiful as Alice had always hoped she would, sharing many facial features with her brother. Her face was just as calm as Cecil's, though she seemed almost as if she were a few years younger than she really was. Her face, however, had a few blemishes here and there, though nothing to significant to really be seen as a problem. However, the evidence of tears caught Alice's eye, the dry streaks still in place.

Alice ached to reach out and touch her daughter's face, to silently wipe away the tears and any problems that have caused them, but paused as a low whine came from behind her. Turning, Alice found the dog, a young husky, staring at her. His eyes locked with hers, showing no fear, or even anger like his instincts had told him that he should feel toward this creature standing over his masters.

Alice kneeled down, holding her hand out toward him cautiously. The dog stepped into her out stretched hand, taking in her scent. He could smell it, the presence of death and the smell of blood that came from her, and yet, he knew that this creature, this woman, would not harm him or his masters. She was different than others that held this scent, that much he knew though he had never met any, but on top of that, she seemed to radiate the same compassion and love for them that he did. He could feel that she cared for them and that she was not a bad person like the rest of the older humans in this house. With a soft whine and a tentative lick, he moved closer to her, pushing his head into her hand.

Alice gave a small smile toward him as she petted him. "Well, maybe you're not so bad after all. Have you been looking after these two for me? Keeping them company? Good boy." Standing back up, Alice turned to the desk, finding the purple sweater for which she had come sitting, waiting for her. She walked over to it, picking it up and examining the hole in it before turning around and preparing to leave. "Now, be a good boy, and keep quiet, ok? I'll be in a little while with this for Cleo, but it's a surprise, ok?"

The dog happily panted as he looked at her, and Alice smiled, taking that as a yes. As she prepared to make her exit, she noticed something that shocked her, having not seen it before. Clutched tightly to Cleo's chest was a silver frame. The same silver frame that she had sent to them after she found out that she would be leaving.

Alice couldn't believe that she still had it; had her children been still thinking about her this entire time? Was she still a presence in their thoughts?

Before she could ponder these thoughts any further, she stopped dead in her tracks as a vision hit her.

 _A man was running through the forest, barefooted and at high speed. He was wearing dark jeans and a light colored dress shirt. His skin was deathly pale and looked hard like marble, while his hair looked as though it were made from black silk. And his eyes…were a dark red, showing both age and thirst._

 _A vampire._

 _A sudden flash showed the man, standing before them in a clearing, a smirk on his face as he conversed with them. His eyes continuously darting between their family members, staying on her for a few seconds more than the others, though Alice couldn't see why._

 _Another flash, and he was shaking hands with Carlisle, a friendly jester for someone so clearly outnumbered, showing that he was no intention of hostile behavior, not while so heavily outnumbered and guaranteed death._

Alice was completely lost in her vision, not noticing the stirring coming from the girl in the bed she stood beside.

Cleo groaned in exhaustion as she tried to wake up. Last night hadn't been a good night for her, and based on how her head was hurting at the moment, she was suspecting that today wasn't going to be much better. She could feel her body protesting the idea of getting up, her head pounding the entire time. She finally reasoned that if she could get up and get some ibuprofen, she could crawl her way back into bed sooner and get at least a few more hours of sleep.

Cracking her eyes open slowly, her tired mind slowing took in the presence of the figure standing over her. Her eyes slowly travelled over their form, registering that it was a female, before coming to rest on her face. Cleo's eyes grew wide as she stared at what appeared to be the face of her mother, perfectly preserved and pristine the exact same it had been thirteen years ago when she had last scene her.

Her heart began to pump erratically as she felt panic and fear rushing through her as well as the urge to scream. She had never been one to believe in ghost, but seeing your dead mother standing over you would be a good way to make anyone into a believer. Closing her eyes, Cleo gave her pounding head a shake, taking in shallow breaths before opening her eyes again to see-

Nothing.

Confusion etched her face as she sat up, looking back and forth around the small room, finding nothing out of the unusual at all. Her breathing slowed as she got to her feet, creeping slowly as her body show and moved toward the bathroom as well as leaving the picture she had on her bed. With a shudder, she flicked the light on, finding their bathroom to be in the same condition it always was and still unoccupied.

A cold touch made her jump, a squeal of surprise coming from her. Cleo whirled around her long hair swinging like a curtain as she looked down to find Wolf, whining unhappily. It then dawned on her that the cold touch she felt was his nose, poking her to get her attention. Her heart once again slowed to its normal pace as she fell to her knees, bringing her dog into her arms and petting him lovingly.

"God, Wolf, you scared me," she whispered. "I think I'm finally losing it, boy. I thought I saw Mom…but I guess it was just a wishful dream…"

Wolf whined again, licking her face free of the tears that were there from the previous night, wishing he could help his master feel better.

Alice blinked a few times as the vision began to fade and the present began to come back to her. She soon realized that she was staring into the golden eyes of her husband as his strong arms held her.

"Jazz…" she whispered.

"Your two minutes were up," he said, rubbing her arms up and down. "I followed your scent downstairs and found you standing there, mid-vision. It's a good thing I turned up when I did; one of the twins was starting to wake up and you were staring at her. I think she saw you but only for a split second."

"I'm sorry," she said, looking around to see that they were no longer on the property or near the house. Jasper, seeing her confusion, answered her question.

"I ran us back into the forest and away from the house just in case someone heard her or thinks that they saw something. I locked and closed all the doors just the way that they were so that nothing will be suspsected." Looking down, Jasper fingered the material of the sweater between his fingers gingerly. "We should head home. We'll figure out something about the sweater later, I suppose. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she answered, knowing that he meant about seeing them so close up. A sense of urgency suddenly hit her as she turned around and began running home. Jasper, sensing the sudden change in her mood, followed behind her immediately. "We need to hurry and get back toward the house!"

"Alice, what's wrong? What did you see?"

Alice ignored him, pulling out her cellphone and calling Carlisle. The phone rang for only a second before he answered. "Alice?" he asked.

"Carlisle, get everyone now! There's a vampire headed toward the house!" she said as fast as she could. Jasper tensed for a moment at this information, wondering if this vampire was dangerous as they seemed to have his wife quite on edge.

"How long until they get here?" he asked. Alice could vaguely hear the sounds of movement, meaning that everyone was now around Carlisle, listening into to what they had to say.

"He'll be there in thirty minutes. Head six miles south from the house. There's a clearing near there that Jasper and I will meet you in."

"We're on our way," Carlisle said before hanging up. Alice hung up too, clutching her phone in her hand and Cleo's sweater in the other.

"Alice," Jasper called, turning to look at her as they ran. "Is this vampire dangerous? Should we be worried about a fight breaking out?"

"I don't think so. From what I could see, he's alone and not going to attack because we've got him outnumbered, but it's just something about the way he was looking at all of us. Something's not right about it."

That was all Jasper needed to hear as the two of them pushed themselves as fast as they could toward their family.

It didn't take them long to get to the clearing with Alice's memory of where it was. Their family was already there, waiting for them as they broke past the tree line and ran up to them. A wave of relief came from all of them at seeing the two of them having made it there safely.

"How long?" Carlisle asked Alice.

"A few minutes," she replied.

"Good, then we have some time. Have you seen any changes in the future?"

"No, not at all. Everything looks the same. He's still coming this way."

"Is he hostile?" Esme asked, worry lacing her voice.

"Not that I could see. We have him too outnumbered to fight. He won't attack us," she said confidently.

Esme nodded her head, her eyes quickly falling onto the sweater in her daughter's hand. Emmett noticed it as well, though ignored it, knowing where it came from as he looked at his siblings. Rosalie paid it no mind, as did Carlisle, focusing on the tree line laid out before them.

"Alice, where did you get that sweater?" Esme asked.

"It belongs to a girl at the homeless shelter that I've been working at. There's a hole in the sleeve and I promised I'd fix it for her," Alice said offhandedly. Esme nodded her head, believing her as she knew that Alice frequently helped out at the local homeless shelters around the city. She mostly donated the old clothes that they had worn, but it was still helping none the less.

Alice's eyes shifted back to the tree line as she spoke again. "He's here."

Everyone turned to where she was facing, watching as he emerged from the tree line, stopping once he got sight of them all. The look on his face showed surprise as his eyes darted from one Cullen to the next. He definitely hadn't been expecting there to be this many vampires in the area, let alone in one coven. This could end badly for him if he didn't play his card right.

The Cullen's looked over him, each one taking in the same features that Alice had seen in her vision. He was definitely an older man, about middle aged when he had been changed, and though he was handsome, he held a certain air about him that kept them all on edge, regardless of their numbers. Carlisle stepped forward, greeting the newcomer.

"Welcome," he said, catching the eyes of the stranger who instantly determined that he must be the leader of the coven. "My name is Carlisle, and this is my family."

A smile crossed his face as he stepped forward, hand held out toward the patriarch. "A pleasure, Carlisle. My name is Duran."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Duran," he replied, shaking hands with him. Duran's smile grew as the two made contact, putting Carlisle slightly more on edge.

"Animal blood, huh? My, that is a strange way life you live, Carlisle." His eyes shifted as well to the others. "And your family as well. I've never seen a coven as large as this one, second only to the Volturi themselves, of course. Though, you know all about them, given that you yourself have spent so much time with them."

Carlisle tensed instantly, and loud hisses could be heard coming from his family who were no more on edge about this person then they were before. In a flash, Jasper and Emmett were at Carlisle's sides, flanking him. Duran dropped Carlisle's hand in a flash, stepping back as the two new vampires hissed at him, though he seemed unfazed.

"Emmett, Jasper, please," Duran said, holding his hands up to show a sign of nonaggression, though the calling of their names only showed to anger them even more.

"How do you know our names?" Emmett growled.

"And how did you know all that about Carlisle?" Jasper added.

"Now, now, gentlemen, please, calm yourselves. There no cause for alarm. I mean you all no harm, and I'm sure you'll know I'm not lying, Jasper, given your gift of empathy."

Carlisle looked to his son for conformation, watching as he nodded his head. His gazed turned back to Duran who only continued to smirk.

"Please, if you don't mind, we'd like to know how you know so much about us," Carlisle asked in as friendly a manner as he could muster without sounding unbelievable. "It's not every day you come across someone who claims to know your history as well as you seem to know it. My guess would be that you're gifted?"

"You would be correct in you assumption, Carlisle. I am gifted, and it is quite a gift indeed. Before I was changed back in the early 1900s, I was a historian, a man of knowledge and know how. I was obsessed with learning things, whether it be able people, places or history itself. I would stop at nothing to know what I wanted to know. Upon my transformation, I was amazed to find that it had manifested into a gift. Now, I am able to learn everything about a person, simply by touch. I know your history, and the things you've done, as well as the people you've met. That is how I know of the names of your two sons here, you lovely mate, Esme over there, your two daughters, Alice and Rosalie, and of course, your current runaway, Edward."

"I'd appreciate it if you did not pry into my family's history, Duran," Carlisle said tensely.

"But of course, and for that, I apologize. It's always fascinating to be able to learn something new about people when I meet them. I'm truly sorry for the intrusion."

"How did you find us," Rosalie asked, disliking that this man could look into their past so easily and know everything about them. The venom in her mouth was beginning to pool as her anger slowly built.

"I was crossing through the area when I came upon the scent of two vampires, one of which I now realize was Jasper's," he said, nodding to the blonde southern young man in front of him. His gaze shifted to Alice, his smirk holding her gaze as her vision replayed in her mind. "And I assume that the other was Alice's."

"I see. Well, I must say that you do indeed have an impressive gift," Carlisle said, placing a hand his sons' shoulders. Both lowered their guards slightly, though kept their gaze on Duran as the women made their way forward to stand with their mates.

"It does come in quite handy. And worry not, I don't plan to disrupt you lives here. I am simply a nomad, passing through."

"Well, we're certainly glad to hear that then. Always good to make acquaintances without the need for violence."

"Yes, indeed it is. If you wouldn't mind, Carlisle, I'd love to pick your brain a bit more about the things you've seen in your time before I move on. I'll only be here for a few more days though. Chicago is a favorite of mine, so rich in history, you know," Duran asked kindly.

"It would be my pleasure, Duran. Please, feel free to drop by before you go. Our residence is not far from here," Carlisle said, holding Esme close to him.

"Thank you. I'm humbled by your hospitality," he said, holding his hand out once more. Carlisle shook it, feeling more at ease now then when the conversation had started. After him, Duran held his hand out to Esme who shook it as well, a gracious smile on her face. After that, he held his hand out to Emmett, who too shook his hand, gripping it with a little extra force though it was clearly unnecessary given that he was clearly bigger in size then Duran.

Holding his hand out to Rosalie, Duran could tell by the look in her eyes, as well as the information that he received from the others, that she would not be shaking his hand and that she definitely did not trust him. Duran just continues to smirk as he moved on to Jasper who hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand as well.

"Your's is a history I would be most interested to find out more about, Mr. Whitlock," Duran said. With one last glance, he moved on to Alice, who watched him with careful eyes as his burgundy ones travelled down to the sweater she was holding. His hand came up, lightly fingering the soft material between his thumb and forefingers before turning back to them. "This sweater…it's very lovely, and is very special to someone. You should take care it."

"I intend to," she said, her golden eyes locking onto his burgundy ones.

"I'm sure you will. And I'd love to find out more about your abilities, as well. I've never met a future seer before."

With a final glance to the Cullen family, Duran turned on his heels and vanished into the forest from whence he came, leaving only a feeling of unease in his wake.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It had been an hour since Duran had left, and yet the historian vampire had left a very deafening presence in his wake. The Cullens had given it a few minutes before running back to their home, everyone on edge about their mysterious new acquaintance. There was just something about him that rubbed them the wrong way, and they were not about to be unprepared for a possible attack on them.

"One of the few times we really need Edward for his stupid mind reading, and he's god knows where sulking like gigantic undead crybaby," Emmett ground out in irritation as he ran near Rosalie protectively. Not that he doubted that she could protect herself, but he'd be damned if he let this guy get his hands on her.

"Emmett, now is not the time for that," Esme chided as she ran in front with Carlisle.

"Your mother's right," Carlisle said as they approached the house. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any trace of his scent near it, meaning that if he were heading that way, they had beaten him to it. "We need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that he may be up to something or have an ulterior motive."

"I can't believe we let him trick us like that," Rosalie said in anger. "Now he's running around with our secrets. We need to find him, end him."

"No, Rosalie," Esme protested as they all gathered around in a circle. "We don't kill others, human or our kind, unless forced to."

"Esme, he knows our secrets! All of them! Including the one where we killed another vampire to protect a _human_ who knew our secret. He could go to the Volturi with that information, and then what will we do? They won't let that just go. They'll either kill us or kill her."

"Probably both," Jasper said bitterly. "The Volturi aren't exactly known for their mercy if we're being honest. And I'm sure Bella's blood would make a good meal for them."

"And if Edward's moping about now, imagine how he'd feel when he reads all their minds and watches them rip us apart and feed us to a fire," Roselie said. "That'd be one hell of a last memory before they destroy him too."

"Roselie, Jasper, that is enough," Carlisle said, silencing them both. Taking a deep breath as he wrapped an arm around Esme who had a sad look on her face, he nodded his head. "It's unfortunate that it's going to come to this, but I think that they're right. Duran knows too much about what we've been doing, and though I doubt that he would actually go to the Volturi about it, there's too great a risk to take that chance."

"We need a plan then, or a way to lure him somewhere so we can catch him," Jasper said.

"Why not just wait until he comes looking for us?" Emmett suggested. "He already told us he wants to know more, so why not just wait til he gets here and jump him before he realizes what happens?"

"We can't take the chance that he was lying and will try to escape," Carlisle said. "You and Jasper head into the woods and track his scent from the field. He's more than likely heading into the city. The rest of us will stay here and make preparations. I don't doubt that we may have to be to leave if things get out of hand." Turning to the smallest member of his family, Carlisle said, "Alice, we will need you to try and get visions of him by any means possible."

"I understand," Alice said before turning to Jasper, embracing him and kissing him lovingly. "Be careful."

"I will be. If you see anything, call us as soon as possible," he said.

"Be careful, Emmett," Roselie said as she too kissed her husband.

"I will, babe. There's no way that this guy is gonna beat me and Jasper," Emmett said, smile on his face as he tried to lighten the mood. Roselie's displeased look, however, did not change. "Rose, everything will be fine. I promise."

"You'd better, Emmett," Roselie threatened. "Now get going."

With a nod of his head, Emmett took off full speed into the forest, back from the direction that they had come, Jasper at his side. The others watched them disappear before turning and rushing back into the house.

They got to work instantly. Roselie started with hers and Emmett's room, packing away none important things delicately, a grim, unhappy disposition about her. She hated when they were forced to move like this. It was one thing to have to move because they had reached the limit of which they could stay, but it was a whole other thing to have to do so when they were presented with an incident. And considering how many had come up in the last few months, she was starting to lose what little cool she had. She couldn't help the impulse she had to blame Edward for all of this.

He may be her brother, but she'd be damned if she didn't make sure he knew how pissed she was at him and made sure he suffered when she next saw him.

Esme moved about the kitchen, picking up various unused items and such, putting them into boxes that she had brought in from the garage. A cellular phone was held to her ear as she worked, the dial tone ringing uselessly, as she tried to get into contact with Edward to inform him of their current predicament. Sadly, the phone was never answered, going to voicemail. Esme sighed sadly, trying a few more times before finally settling on leaving a voicemail.

"Edward Anthony Mason Cullen, I know that you're there and I know you know it's me calling you," she said sternly as she began putting away the cutlery. "I know you want to be left alone right now, but it's important that you know we may be forced to move again. Call me as soon as you get this message."

Carlisle moved about his office as fast as he could, packing away papers and various medical equipment precariously so as not to damage anything. He paused for a moment to grab the deed to the house as well as the syringes that held the venom sample he had acquired from Alice and Jasper, placing them into his pocket for safe keeping. Once finished, he rushed to his cabinets, sorting through the things he found useful and packing them away.

Alice pushed her ability as far as she possibly could as she sat on the couch. Her eyes were closed as she searched through as many possible futures as she could, looking for any traces of Duran that she could find. However, thanks to his ability, she knew it was going to be harder, if not impossible, to find him since he would know to avoid her visions if he wanted to be avoided.

It made Alice nervous knowing that he husband and brother were out there looking for him, possibly in danger, especially since there was a possibility that she wouldn't be able to find him in any of her visions. Though it was more than likely true that he wouldn't know the exact extent of how her visions worked, it was clear that he would be able to avoid them. If that wasn't bad enough, she was having unbelievable difficulty shuffling through the visions she was having of the twins, some of which were fading in and out repeatedly. Her anxiousness for this situation seemed to be building with every passing second, and Alice could only hope that she could find something useful before someone she loved got hurt.

* * *

Cleo was not happy. No, that was an understatement. She was downright pissed.

First, there was the matter of the pounding headache that she still had from that morning. She searched all over the medicine cabinet, only to groan in desperation to find that the ibuprofen bottle was completely empty. She didn't doubt that he foster father had come down and raided their pills earlier in the week.

Next, there was the fact that they didn't get to eat anything before rushing over here to the football field. If there was one thing that Cleo made clear to people, it was to never cross her when she was sick and in need of food. Her brother was often quoted in calling her a ravenous she-devil when that happened, along with her, unfortunately, heavy time of the month. Thankfully she still had a few weeks before having to deal with that particular annoyance because right now, she was in no mood for it.

The tip of the iceberg, however, was her missing sweater. Her favorite purple sweater, which she had saved for months to buy, was missing. Cleo was very possessive over the objects that she owned as they were few and far between, so the fact that something she cared about more than anything else she owned, with the exception of her dog, was missing, left her extremely upset. She had looked all over their bedroom for it, but of course, it was nowhere to be found.

Cecil, trying to be helpful, had suggested that she could have possibly left it at school or that maybe Wolf had hidden it from her. But Cleo knew that Wolf wouldn't have done something like that, and clearly recalled pulling it from her backpack the day before. If she had to guess, she believed that it was Mira, the older of their two foster sisters. She had a history of taking Cleo's clothes without her permission, something that did not sit well with her, but went unpunished by her parents. If she did have the sweater, Cleo decided, she would regret it. She wasn't a violent person as that was something she left up to her brother, but she sure as hell would make sure she left a lasting impression this time.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Cleo cringed as she stood under the bleachers, her back turned to the boy making yet another pass at her. She could hear multiple footsteps, meaning that not only was he not alone, but chances are, he brought his entire disgusting entourage with him. Turning, she frowned even further as Rick Porter smirked at her, his eye dancing over her dark jeans and leather jacket. She was right in assuming he wasn't alone as two other boys flanked him.

Rick Porter was the school's star quarterback, and the first draft pick for many prestigious Universities. He had the highest number of rushes in the school's history, and he was very smug about it, attributing it all to hard work and dedication. But Cleo was one of the few people who knew the real secret behind his success.

Rick had been doping himself up on steroids before games to give himself an edge. Steroids that he got from her and Cecil.

Given that their foster parents never gave them any money, Cecil and Cleo had learned early on that they would need some way to support themselves. As luck would have it, an old friend of theirs from the orphanage, Chris, had gotten a job at the local pharmacy.

Chris, who was a good five years older than them, had always had a soft spot for the two, and made sure to keep in touch with them, even after he had left the orphanage on his eighteenth birthday.

Though to most he seemed like a good, upstanding young man who had just been dealt a bad hand in life, Cleo knew that it was all a façade. Though Chris was a nice guy and a hard worker, he was also very parsimonious when it came to his money. Having grown up the way that they did, Chris had always made it his goal in life to build a fortune, and work his way up to the top, and he was more than glad bring them along for the ride.

For a price.

The arrangement was a simple one. Chris, working as the head pharmaceutical technician, would order extra stock of drugs and medications, and Cecil and Cleo, would sell them to the rich snobs and athletic dreamchasers that attended their school. Though this had seemed like a problem to Cleo, given their distaste and hatred both for and from the jocks of their school, Cecil had readily agreed, telling her that "We don't have to make nice with these assholes; it's strictly business. Supply and demand. That's all."

And he was right. It had been that simple.

Which is how she had ended up here, now, under the bleachers of the football field, three hours before the big homecoming game with the school's star quarterback ogling her. Something he did often, much to her and her brother's displeasure.

"Rick. What an unpleasant surprise," she said, the dull edge to her voice going unnoticed by him.

"Hey, babe. Sorry to keep you waiting," Rick said, walking up to her and bringing his hand to touch her cheek. Cleo reacted quickly, smacking it away. "Ohh, feisty as ever. Just the way I like'em."

"You're disgusting."

"Oh, don't be that way, baby. You know you're feeling me."

"No, I think you've mistaken that for the feeling of my breakfast trying to regurgitate itself," Cleo said, taking a step back as she crossed her arms. "My brother will be here soon, so just keep your distance and we won't have an issue."

"Why do you always play hard to get?" he said, stepping forward and grabbing her wrist. Cleo tried to pull it back, but soon found his grip tightening painfully.

"Let me go, now!" she demanded. Rick smirked even more as he pulled her closer, the other two boys chuckling at the display. Cleo soon found herself pressed against a metal support beam as Rick pressed himself up dangerously close to her. His face was only inches from hers, his breath rancid with the smell of something that she couldn't and didn't want to know of. Cleo continued to struggle in an attempt to get away from him, but Rick only pressed harder as he leaned toward her in an attempt to kiss her.

The was a sudden force that jerked Cleo, as Rick was pulled away from her, stumbling backwards. Cleo blinked, her hand touching her wrist as she watched her brother drop the backpack full of drugs and toward Rick, an angry, murderous look on his face.

"You got a problem, Caesar?" Rick said, regaining his balance and standing his ground as Cecil marched up to him.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to touch my sister?" Cecil ground out, his gaze locked on the jock. "Didn't I tell you the next you even looked at her funny, I would beat your moronic ass so bad, you'd spend the rest of your soon to be short life in a hospital?"

"Cecil, no," Cleo said, rushing up and trying to pull her brother back, but he simply shrugged her off.

"You know, you talk real big there, Caesar," Rick said, as he looked into Cecil's eyes, though he was a few inches taller them him, and much bulker thanks to the steroids. His two friends suddenly flanked him, though Cecil paid them no attention as he continued to stare down Rick angrily. "Maybe we should teach you a lesson."

"Try it and see what happens," he mumbled under his breath.

Cleo could only blink as she watched Rick take a single at Cecil who blocked it easily before sending a headbutt into his face. A sickening crunch echoed around them, and Cleo knew, from the many years of having watched her brother fight, that he had just broken Rick's nose.

A trail of blood ran down the jock's face as he brought his hands up, smearing his fingers with it. An angry look crossed his face as his friends tried to grab a hold of Cecil, but seemed unable to do so as he shoved one to the side and punched the other. Rick roared, charging like an angry rhino and slamming into Cecil, knocking the wind out of him as his back hit the same steel beam that his sister had been against before.

This did little to deter Cecil, his anger growing as his adrenaline pumped hard in his veins. Bringing his knee up, he felt the swift connection of it to Rick's stomach, but Rick came back with a swing straight to Cecil's jaw. Cecil recoiled, his head snapping to the side, before uppercutting Rick, sending his staggering back, his head spinning at this sensation.

Cecil marched forward, prepared to continue his assault, but was interrupted abruptly.

"Hey! What the hell is going on here!"

The two teens stopped in their tracks as a security officer rushed forward. He looked the two hard breathing boys, as well as the two laid out on the ground and the startled girl.

"You're not supposed to be here, you brats," he said, marching up to apprehend them, nearly tripping on the backpack Cecil had brought. The contents spilled out onto the ground, shocking everyone.

Cleo could feel the color draining from her face as the drugs rolled on the ground and out for all to see. Cecil sucked in a breath, his hands getting clammy and a nervous sweat beginning to build on his brow.

The officer looked down, his eyes scanning over the various drugs and papers. As his eyes read over the name on the papers, he looked up disgustedly at the dark haired twin as well as his blonde sister.

"Caesar; you two, are in a world of trouble," he ground out, pulling his walkie talkie from his belt and calling for back up.

Not far from where this was taking place, high in the trees surrounding the field, Duran sat; his red eyes shimmer with thirsty, both for knowledge and from hunger.

"My, my," he hummed to himself. "Quite the troublemakers, you two are. What is it about these humans that intrigue the Cullen girl so? Though, why a vampire would ever crave such things, and then not simply drink of them or turn them, is beyond me. Of course, the answers no doubt, lie within your history. A simple touch, and all of your secrets, will help tell the tale that has been woven amongst these strange vampires."

A grin spread across his face as he looked up into the sky.

"The game is on, Miss Alice; I wonder who's story, will be more entertaining to tell; the tragic tale of the mother, never to be reunited with her progeny, or heroic struggle of one vampire's willingness to risk everything and everyone's lives, for something she could never have? The choice is yours, young future seer."

* * *

Alice's eyes shot open, a loud gasp ringing out as shot up from her seat on the couch. Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie were in front of her in an instant. Three pairs of golden eyes watched as the small pixie like vampire covered her mouth, her own golden eyes wide in horror.

"No…" she whispered.

"Alice, what is it?" Esme asked frightfully.

"Did you have a vision of Duran?" Carlisle asked.

"He's after them…" she whispered.

"After Jasper and Emmett?" Rosalie asked, a nervous edge to her voice as she thought of potential of her husband and brother being in danger.

"Jasper…" Alice said, as if suddenly remembering something. In a flash, she had her phone out, dialing the number and bringing it to her ear. It only rang once before her husband picked up.

"Alice?" Jasper answered.

"Jasper! I saw him, he's after them!"

"What do you mean? Who is h-"

"The twins! He's after the twins, Jasper! You and Emmett have to get back to there as soon as you can!"

"We're on our way," he said before ending the call. Alice hung up the phone, her hands visibly shaking, something she didn't think was possible as a vampire.

"Alice," she heard Rosalie call. Alice turned back to face her family, confused looks on their faces. "Who are these twins that you're talking about?"

Alice shook her head, an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry…" she said, worrying her family further. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think, didn't want it happen like this. You weren't supposed to find out-"

"Find out what, Alice?" Carlisle asked. "What is it that you're not telling us?"

"I…I'm so sorry, Carlisle. I know that I was forbidden from doing it, but I had to see them again. They were…are…important to me."

"Alice-"

"Cecil and Cleo Caesar. They were the twins that I wanted to adopt, all those years ago," she said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I've found them, and now, because of me, Duran is after them. He's after my children."


End file.
